Fortress Festival 2026 – Sunday (see Saturday here)
Scarborough Spa, North Yorkshire
30th to 31st May 2026
Fortress Festival delves in to dungeon synth and hosts the live set no one thought would happen.
As we move into the second day, we can reflect that the black metal community in attendance at the festival are serious listeners, who discuss and are well-informed about the genre. Conversations and online forums buzz with information and commentary about the bands playing at the festival.
We start the second day with West Yorkshire’s very own A Forest Of Stars playing the main stage, a seven-piece outfit which features keyboards and violin alongside the more traditional black metal instrumentation. They ready themselves while folk legends Steeleye Span’s classic Twa Corbies plays over the PA. A statement of intent perhaps, as the folk influence is one of the elements that contributes to their unique sound.
Ascension Of The Clowns, from the new album, Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface, commences the set, with Katheryne, Queen of the Ghosts, playing an exquisite phrase on the violin. When the full band crash in, you are immediately struck by the layered nature of the sound, and the way the band can move between gentle folk like passages and maximum power black metal dirge. The song’s coda features the violin weaving in and out of ascending unison guitars. It has a strong emotional impact.
Mister Curse’s vocals and evocative words create a sense of giving testimony to the audience about the human experience and, coupled with the extraordinary graphics on the screen behind the band, there is a traditional storytelling aspect to the band’s performance, which feels very involving. Their set is a strong start to the second day of the festival, and Louder Than war spoke to the band following it. Watch out for the interview.
We rush to get to the Ocean Room to witness, all the way from Stockholm, This Gift Is A Curse, for their first ever UK show. Vast waves of pulverising sound emanate from stage, in an impressive bringing together of black metal with the down tuned glacial heartbeat of doom metal. The deep rumbling bass fills the room, with mad crashing cymbals almost overwhelming everything. It is a mesmerising sound, with Jonas A. Holmberg’s vocals offering a master class on how to integrate growled vocals into the flow of the music.
Washington-based Abigail Williams, join the main stage in a rare UK appearance. The band’s live delivery is an all-encompassing wall of sound, that is also capable of contrasts. This is well illustrated in the live rendition of Talk To Your Sleep from their most recent album A Void Within Existence, where the final section encompasses folk like guitar figures and a space rock jamming ambiance. They also during their set let loose some very arresting solo guitar phrases. The audience show their appreciation through the raising of massed devil horns.
Fief, from Salt Lake City, in the full to capacity Theatre, are a revelation. First though, a few brief words about dungeon synth as a genre. It is a style of music that facilitates a meeting between electronic ambient music and the motifs of black metal, with a sweeping cinematic aesthetic. There are numerous dedicated labels and record shop outlets that support the music.
Standing alone on the stage with his keyboard, in chain mail and dark glasses, bathed in tumbling red mist, Fief is a distinctive figure. The screen behind him projects a range of visuals with a medieval theme. Interestingly the introductory film is the travelling minstrel sequence with Robert Taylor from the 1952 film Ivanhoe, based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott.
The first piece in the set, which might be Stained Glass Visions, builds a beautiful shimmering musical vignette around a repeating melody. Subtle tonal changes and counterpoints are introduced as the piece builds up. The nature of the applause at the end wouldn’t seem out of place at a classical concert.
A particular highlight, near the end of the set, is Deep Forest Dance. The medieval madrigal dancers on the screen perfectly complement the traditional reel like keyboard rhythms and melodies, which even has the audience spontaneously clapping along. A triumphant set.
Fluisteraars (the translation is ‘Whisperers’), from the Netherlands play the main stage. They play a form of black metal-tinged post rock, that also includes hints of post punk – think Magazine. This makes for a compelling live performance, such that unexpected musical moments will fly out of the mix.
Vocalist Bob Mollema has a charismatic stage presence, with very expressive use of his hands, even sometimes falling to his knees and vibing to the music.
The final song of the set is announced as a new song and sees all the elements come together, with seething hypnotic rhythms, a dynamic guitar sound stage, and intense vocals. The stop start pause near the end allows for a post rock guitar motif to ring out, with the full band piling back in at exactly the same intensity they’ve been playing before the stop. How will they bring such an intense number to a close? Well, they all stop playing at precisely the same moment, almost as if the power has been turned off. The rumour following the set was that the power briefly went down. Whatever the reality, it’s an impressive finish to the set.
Vinterland, from Sweden, take to the main stage to play their Welcome My Last Chapter album in full. The album represented an early manifesto of the musical possibilities offered by melodic black metal. Fortress is their first ever UK show. With the stage bathed in purple light against a screen backdrop of a forest landscape, the familiar lilting chords drift out from the stage, to be succeeded by a tsunami of high gain guitars and blast beats. We are of course being pummelled by the opening track on the album, Our Dawn Of Glory.
I’m An Other In The Night has the most astonishing and mountainous of ascending chords, infused with dashing melodies and subtle refrains. The performance of the piece also includes a section where, led by the bass and drums, the music almost seems to swing, within the layers of scything guitar.
A Winter Breeze, near the end of the set, is unremittingly consuming, with its deep sonorous sweeps of sound that have an operatic quality. The complex time signature changes enable a change of mood and atmosphere throughout the performance of the song, enhanced by the pulsating stage lights. There is a momentary subdued moment as the song ends, followed by rapturous applause, as if the audience are in shock for a few seconds. After the set finishes, leaving the balcony of the Grand Hall, which hosts the main stage, we run into a heat-generated mist that almost obscures the way out. It’s been that kind of set.
Vespéral from Québec, on the Ocean Room stage, represent one of those sublime discovery moments at a festival. Recommended to see their set, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Performing a worldwide exclusive of their most recent album release, La Mort De L’âme, they have a completely captivating musicality. The perfectly-placed swirling guitar figures, the beguiling space rock rhythms, the subtle use of psychedelic-influenced keyboards, and the harmonious vocals, create a very special musical experience. Even the accidental feedback sounds integral to the music. The audience loves them.
Norway’s Mortiis conclude events on the dungeon synth-curated Theatre stage. A key originator in the genre, there is a sizeable queue of people waiting to get into the room.
Håvard Ellefsen is the sole figure on the stage, behind mounted keyboards, lit in alternating red and blue lighting. A lengthy, nearly ten-minute piece, opens the set, gently weaves keyboard textures together with a sequence of rippling variations. The applause is appreciative and sustained and met with a timid wave of acknowledgement from the stage. In contrast, the second piece has a majestic aura, with swirling melodies cutting across a pulsating beat.
The set is full of intriguing elements, such as the looping back of wordless harmonies, choral sounds, deep reverberating chords that echo to the back of the room. It is by turns immersive and cinematic, and the red mist that frequently swallows up the stage conjures up scenes from Roger Corman’s The Masque of the Red Death, based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The set is very well received by the very attentive audience.
Gallowbraid, from Salt Lake City, are the Sunday headliner on the main stage. It is a unique debut, with multi-instrumentalist Jake Rogers’ project playing live for the very first time. Featured in the set is their sole Ashen Eidolon EP, a classic of atmospheric black metal. This, it is fair to say, is the live set no one expected would happen. So the anticipation in the air is electric. The line up includes (via the word on online forums) Fief on keyboards and vocals, Jake Rogers on guitar and vocals, Jamison Palmer on guitars, Matt Brotherton on bass, and Xander Johnson on drums. Jamison and Matt, along with Jake, are part of Visigoth.
Beginning with Ashen Eidolon, the title song from the EP, the band sound utterly immense, with thumping, cleverly syncopated rhythms interweaving with lyrical guitar phrases and oscillating growled vocals. The band adeptly handle the mid-song change of pace into a stately progressive rock bridge, before flying back into their subtly nuanced thunderstorm of sound. Jake Rogers’ clean vocal section adds another captivating level to this lengthy piece (over fourteen minutes on the original EP). A singularly brave piece to begin your set with. The knowledgeable audience of course get it, cheering all the musical changes. At the conclusion of the song, Jake Rodgers touchingly says “We are Gallowbraid from the United States. We have never played a live date before, so we really appreciate you being here with us”.
Other highlights in the set include a lovely rendition of the folk imbued Autumn I, with Jake adding a wistful flute arrangement. Then the playing of, somewhat amazingly, two new songs: Leafdance and Stormcloud Memories. On first listen sound, both songs sound very strong and bode well for any future release.
The set concludes with Oak And Aspen and Stone Of Remembrance, both from the Ashen Eidolon EP. Oak And Aspen makes striking use of a floating psychedelic keyboard sound and a gentle passage where the guitar and keyboards meld, set against a thundering black metal canvas that dominates the hall. Fief stands on the crowd barrier at the front of the stage to deliver an incendiary growled vocal. Stone Of Remembrance witnesses raised arms throughout the audience as this unique and unrepeatable set reaches its conclusion. The applause is overwhelming.
So, as we wave goodbye to two fantastic days of great black metal music, the announcement of Emperor as headliner for next year’s festival will undoubtedly ensure another sold out festival in 2027.
You can find out more information here about the Fortress Festival and plans for Fortress 2027 as they emerge: Website |Facebook
~
Words by Gareth Allen. With thanks to Mila Cadène and TomMuir for their valuable insights. You can find Gareth’s author profile here.
All photography by Lewis Allen, except for the photograph of Mortiis by Andrew Pountney (Shot in the Dark Photography.)
A Plea From Louder Than War
Louder Than War is run by a small but dedicated independent team, and we rely on the small amount of money we generate to keep the site running smoothly. Any money we do get is not lining the pockets of oligarchs or mad-cap billionaires dictating what our journalists are allowed to think and write, or hungry shareholders. We know times are tough, and we want to continue bringing you news on the most interesting releases, the latest gigs and anything else that tickles our fancy. We are not driven by profit, just pure enthusiasm for a scene that each and every one of us is passionate about.
To us, music and culture are eveything, without them, our very souls shrivel and die. We do not charge artists for the exposure we give them and to many, what we do is absolutely vital. Subscribing to one of our paid tiers takes just a minute, and each sign-up makes a huge impact, helping to keep the flame of independent music burning! Please click the button below to help.
John Robb – Editor in Chief